Tag Archives: The importance of the arts

The Chaminade Players were born 15 years ago. I remember every show. But as each show ends, we must move on and begin to figure out what we will do the next year. Our only goal is to make each show better than the last. Our choice is always limited by the fact that Chaminade is an all boys school. With that in mind, we are always trying to find the right fit. So it was one day at school, 8:40 am or so, that we heard the ever familiar, “Good morning Chaminade. Here is some music to get you on your way to class.” As soon as the song began, we knew. The song was Stand by Me by Ben E. King. It was then that we knew what our next show would be.

Stand by Me is also the name of a 1982 film by Rob Reiner based on the novella The Body by Stephen King. We have combined the best of the novella and screenplay. It has never been produced as a play so that means it will make its world premiere at Chaminade later this year.

To those new to the school or have yet to check out the wonderful work our students create, the Chaminade Players turn our own Mini Gym in to a dynamic, black box, theatre that can seat just over a hundred people. That intimacy works in our favour as the audience is so close to the action that they cannot help but feel part of the show. It is in this space that we will unveil Stand by Me the play. It is a play about the loss of our innocence and the never-ending struggle to combat the people and the events in our lives that conspire to rob us of all that is right and true. Thankfully, no matter our age or our lot in life, our indelible memories of the seminal moments in our life can never be taken away.

Putting on this play or any play takes a world of commitment and our students have given up all their Saturdays since September and all their Saturdays to come in order to give this story its due. They do so because they love the theatre and they love the idea of a company of players creating something from where there was once nothing. I am in awe of that commitment and I am so honoured to stand with them, or dare I say, Stand by them.

There are so many wonderful things that go on in our school, so we are ever respectful of when we roll out our show. These musings serve as an amuse bouche to whet your whistle and to let you all know what is coming in the first week of June.

Come the end of May we will begin our final push to promote our show. Until then, we thank you in advance for your continued support of the Arts.